


Late Night Encounter

by SnapMyNeckAndCallMeLoki



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Captain America: Civil War, Fluff, Gen, Infinity War, Other, Tumblr, angst if you squint, snapmyneckandcallmeloki, spiderman: far from home, spiderman: homecoming - Freeform, tony and may co parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-24 13:54:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15632010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnapMyNeckAndCallMeLoki/pseuds/SnapMyNeckAndCallMeLoki
Summary: After a long day of Patrol, and a late night, Peter returns home to an unusual greeting





	Late Night Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> So I got an Ao3 and decided the first thing I'd post is something I've previously put on my Tumblr, @SnapMyNeckAndCallMeLoki. So apologies to those of you who follow the Ao3 Irondad feed account on there, as that blog already reblogged this from my account (which still makes me freak out a little haha). But for those of you who don't have Tumblr, I hope you enjoy this! Or for those of you choosing to re-read ;)
> 
> Anyway, this is based on Spider-boiii on Tumblr's post, I wish I knew how to link it. 
> 
> Without further ado, enjoy! Please leave Kudos and comments <3

“You can’t save everybody, kid.”  
At the end of the day, Peter knew Mr. Stark was right whenever he reminded him that he couldn’t control everything that happened in Queens. It was a large city - he was bound to have a few mishaps now and again. But as he stared up at a brilliant navy sky, he couldn’t help his thoughts wandering and blaming himself for the little mistakes he made. He didn’t slip up often. It just so happened that on this particular day a mix of lack of sleep and stress had worn Peter thin, causing his routine patrol to be sloppy. Still, for him, it was far better than not patrolling at all.  
Letting out a deep sigh, Peter allowed his eyes to flutter closed as he leaned back, lying on the roof of a hotel. He just had to focus. The wind gently caressed loose locks of his usually tidy hair as Peter’s breathing became less unsteady, the tranquillity of the late night helping him to relax. After what could’ve been mere moments or ten minutes, he opened his eyes to stare back up at the sky. If there was one thing Peter loved above anything else about being Spiderman, it was that the night sky was always there for him to look at, with the stars twinkling wisely down at him.  
It was… comforting.  
However, Peter knew he couldn’t stay out there forever. If he didn’t get home by morning, May would find out he had been out all night again and he’d be grounded for sure. With that in mind, he pulled his mask over his disheveled, bruised face, preparing himself to go back home.  
“Karen?” Peter murmured, his voice hoarse as he hadn’t spoken in a while.  
“Yes, Peter?” The AI responded immediately.  
“Could you map out the quickest route home?” He asked.  
“Of course, mapping a route now. The fastest path will take you to your apartment in ten minutes.”  
“Thanks, Karen,” Peter said as he lifted himself to his feet.  
The trip was ultimately uneventful, which was almost surprising to Peter. He wasn’t exactly complaining, though - less crime meant more sleep for him, and he was actually starting to get tired.  
As he climbed silently up the side of the apartment building and up to his bedroom window, Peter’s senses alerted him to something, like a child tugging on his sleeve. He ignored it, pinning it on exhaustion as he carefully stuck his hand onto the glass and lifted the window open as quietly as he could. He held his breath and crawled inside the gap, before closing it behind him and freezing for a moment.  
His bedroom door was wide open and the hallway light was still on. That wouldn’t usually be an issue, except for the fact that it was two in the morning and May always turned the light off when she went to sleep. Meaning, she was still awake. Also meaning that Peter was toast.  
Unfreezing, Peter carefully lowered himself to the ground, pulling his mask back of as he did so, hoping that he could just avoid May and Pretend that he had been there the whole time. Unfortunately, that hope was quickly stomped out.  
“Peter Benjamin Parker.”  
Peter tensed, his head snapping behind him to face the stern yet relieved face of his Aunt May, her legs crossed as she sat on his bed, one eyebrow raised.  
“Uh… H-hey Aunt May,” Peter spluttered, his eyes almost comically wide.  
“Do you plan on telling me where you’ve been all evening?” May asked calmly and sweetly, with a nice little undertone of ‘you’re in trouble, young man.’  
“I was, um, at the compound with Mr. Stark!” Peter exclaimed suddenly, lying on the spot. It didn’t sound convincing at all, proven by the questioning glace on his Aunt’s face.  
“You wanna try again, kid?” A familiar voice asked from the hallway.  
Shit. Or proven by that.  
Peter turned to face Tony with a nervous laugh, his gaze flitting between the two adults, realizing that he was utterly and royally fucked.  
“Suspect for disobeying his elders, Peter Parker. Evidence; well, I’d say the cuts and scrapes on his face are pretty damning.” Mr. Stark smirked, his eyes landing on May for a moment and lingering, noticing her expression shift to one that was much more worried. She quickly composed herself, joking along with Tony.  
“Does he have an alibi?” She asked, going along with the act.  
“That’s a good question. Given the current status of this case, I’m going to have to say that at this point, the suspect has no alibi.”  
Both of the adult’s gazes fell on Peter and silence enveloped the room, the confused teen struggling to process what exactly was going on. Although the moment was brief, it stretched on long enough to become slightly awkward.  
“…I-I didn’t mean to break curfew-” Peter finally began, only to be cut off by Aunt May.  
“Again.”  
“-Again. But I wanted to stop these two robbers…” Peter shifted, suddenly seeming to find the carpet more interesting than either Tony or May, as he didn’t lift his head to look at them.  
“Did you?” Tony asked, taking note of Peter’s unusual behavior.  
“I tailed them for a while, but they got away.” His voice was quiet and laced with what Tony could only assume was guilt.  
Tony’s attitude softened, a dull sense of sympathy for the kid surfacing. He sighed, not wanting to lecture Peter, but preparing to regardless.  
“Kid, we’ve been over this-”  
“I know-” Peter all but snapped, stopping himself as he met Tony’s serious gaze. “I know,” he repeated, softer this time. “I just… wanted to do something right today.”  
This caused May to stand and head to Peter, gently placing her hand on his upper arm and urging him to look at her. “Peter,” she started gently.  
He reluctantly dragged his eyes to meet hers, surprised to see a proud, affectionate smile on his Aunt’s face. He felt his shoulders relax, and let a reassuring smile form on his face. The last thing he wanted was for May to worry.  
“I know this whole Spiderman thing is tough,” she continued. “But overworking yourself will only make it harder. You’re going to have off days - we all do, but you’ve got to let us help when you do have those days. We’d never make you struggle on your own.”  
Tony couldn’t help but agree with May. “You’re doing great, kid.” He added. “You just need to let other people lighten the load a little.”  
Peter nodded, taking in the advice sincerely. A wave of relief washed over him; he had been so anxious that he’d just be reprimanded for breaking rules that he continued to ignore day after day. It was a pleasant surprise to have that weight lifted from his shoulders.  
“Thank you,” he murmured softly, offering a small yet appreciative smile to both May and Tony.  
“Of course, Peter,” May said tenderly.  
“Anytime, kid.” Tony chimed in.  
The billionaire took a moment to think, shooting a thoughtful glance in May’s direction.  
“Mind if I have a quick word with him?” Tony asked.  
“Not at all,” May said politely. “Just don’t chew him out too much.” She added, hoping to lighten the mood.  
“No promises.”  
May chuckled lightly, ruffling Peter’s hair as she headed to the door. She stopped for a moment to smile back at the boys and turn Peter’s lamp on before slipping out of the room, giving the two of them some privacy.  
“I gotta say, kid, you’re gonna make me go gray early.” Tony took May’s place on the bed and patted the spot next to him for Peter sit.  
“I think I’m already making that happen, Mr. Stark,” Peter responded, gladly taking the comfortable spot.  
“I wouldn’t be surprised, kid. Another thing we’ve been over- you can call me Tony.”  
“Sorry, Mr. St- Tony.” Peter corrected himself.  
“Anyway, I just wanted to say that I understand why you get so mad when you think you’ve messed up-”  
“There’s no thinking involved - I did mess up. Those thugs got away and I could’ve stopped them!” Peter exclaimed, refusing to shift his thoughts on that matter.  
It’s not that he didn’t appreciate the support from May and Tony; he honestly did. It was just that there was a lot of room for improvement. Too much room.  
“I’m not disagreeing with you, but I’m not agreeing with you either.” Tony resumed. “Yes, sometimes you’ll let a bad guy go or you won’t catch him at all. But even I’m not immune to failure. Point is, for every person that gets away, you’ll catch ten more. A few bumps in the road doesn’t mean you’re doing a bad job - in fact, it gives you room to grow. I think you forget you’re extremely young, Pete. But you’ve done a lot more at sixteen than I’d done at twenty. And as for the stuff you still need to learn, well, I certainly hope I can be of help there.”  
Peter clung to every word, nodding along attentively. He knew that even if he didn’t understand straight away, that in future that advice would help him immensely.  
“I appreciate that, Tony.” He thanked him with a subtle grin, his mind a lot calmer now that it had a rational train of thought to follow.  
“No problem- oh, and kid?”  
“Yeah?” Peter asked, curious as to what more his mentor had to say.  
“You still need an alibi.”  
A stifled chuckle escaped Peter’s lips. Right, an alibi.  
As far as he was concerned, as long as he had support from May and Tony, he wouldn’t need an alibi. He knew that no matter what, they’d always provide him with a safety blanket.  
That was all he needed.


End file.
